Kids aren’t coming back to school. Why not pay their parents to bring them in?
Originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle on March 24, 2024
I’m hosting an event on Friday April 5 from 12-2pm at the Oakland Library on Early Childhood Education in West Oakland! Get your tickets here and see you there :)
New piece in the San Francisco Chronicle! Here’s an excerpt and you can read the rest here — See you at @mcizmane on Instagram and more to come ;)
Without fail, whenever my 4-year-old student Kimberly goes back to school, her return is always accompanied by tears. Sometimes screams. Often both.
The adjustment back is an arduous one. Kimberly (not her real name) has forgotten the routines. She has no idea what we are learning. She misses her mom. All the stress destabilizes her little body and she erupts into a meltdown, making the 50th day of school feel like the first.
As an early childhood educator, it has been startling to see absenteeism rise with the youngest students. Families think that a 4-year-old missing a few days is insignificant. Sometimes we as a nation think so, too. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. That time away leaves a child socially and academically ill-equipped for a successful school career. Kimberly remembers fewer numbers and letters and is less confident during classroom discussions. Before her education has even really begun, she is already behind.